THE BEST KART RACER JUST GOT BETTER

 Super Smash Kart are three words I never wanted to hear… until now. I originally wanted Mario Kart to stay in the Mario universe. But, I’m pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the first DLC pack for Mario Kart 8. Not only is it amazing value for money but the crossover tracks and vehicles are, on the whole, fantastic. In fact, the only thing I want more of, ironically, is The Legend of Zelda.

Firstly, the Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 1, called The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8, includes:

• Eight new courses-three retro tracks, three crossover tracks and two new tracks.
• Four new vehicles- the B Dasher from Mario Kart DS, the Tanooki Kart from the Mario games, the Blue Falcon from F-Zero and the Master Cycle from The Legend of Zelda.
• Three new characters-Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach and Link.
• One new wheel type-Triforce Tires.
• One new glider type-Hylian Kite.
• Eight different colored Yoshis and Shy Guys-Which are exclusive to the Season Pass ($12/£11).

Considering that Mario Kart 8 is $60 and includes 32 courses, the fact that the DLC contains 8 new tracks, for $8 or £7, makes it incredibly good value.

Overall, the tracks in the first DLC pack are of high quality and are fun to race around alone or with friends. However, the highlights are definitely Mute City, Dragon Driftway and Hyrule Circuit; they’re all exhilarating, full of twists and turns and the background music sounds incredible. My personal favorite has to be Mute City; it’s full of speed boosts, breathtaking to play and captures the essence of F-Zero.

Moreover, Wario’s Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii translates really well to Mario Kart 8 with all of its twists and turns. Meanwhile, the Excitebike Arena is simple, full of tricks, is a nice change of pace. Furthermore, it never feels stale thanks to the randomized ramps and speed boosts, unless you’re in time trial mode. Also, for those who miss the difficulty of older Mario Kart games, the Yoshi Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash is for you. Sure, it doesn’t look as visually stunning as the other courses, but nevertheless, you need to time your drifts perfectly to stay on the track, making it the most rewarding track of the bunch.

The two low points, trackwise, are: SNES Rainbow Road and Ice Ice Outpost. I like SNES Rainbow Road… almost as much as I liked it in Mario Kart 7 less than three years ago. It just comes off as lazy and it’s barely evolved from the 3DS version as well. On the other hand, Ice Ice Outpost is forgettable. It’s not bad but it lacks the character, polish and flair which we see in the other new track: Dragon Driftway. I think that it should have been turned into another Zelda course like Death Mountain.

Moreover, while the courses focus heavily on zero-gravity there are no underwater sections and two very short glider sections, which you don’t control. Considering that a new Zelda-themed glider was included it’s very disappointing. Furthermore, the trophies are disappointing and look lazy; they’re literally your bog standard trophy with a Triforce/ Yoshi Egg logo on it.

The Karts are also fantastic, as a whole. The Blue Falcon and the Master Cycle are obviously going to be crowd favourites the Master Cycle is a great take on Epona but for me, someone who doesn’t usually use bikes, the Blue Falcon was better. It hides the wheels, it stands out and is pretty good stat wise. The B-Dasher is here for the “hard-core” Mario Kart enthusiasts, but I don’t really care for it. Meanwhile, the Tannooki Kart doesn’t add anything, aside from it being another kart; I would have much rather have a Loftwing themed Kart. Also, the Zelda themed wheels and glider don’t add much stat wise but are nice additions nonetheless.

The extra characters, unlike the vehicles and tracks, are more of a problem. Link is awesome: he fits in visually, his trick animations are cool and who doesn’t love Link? Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach are the problem. Including them, we have four versions of Mario and Peach: normal, baby, pink gold/metal and tanooki/cat. Four?! It feels lazy and I think it would have been better to include new characters. This DLC has shown off the best of the F-Zero franchise and I believe that Captain Falcon should be in this DLC because he’d fit in so well. Furthermore, for a Legend of Zelda crossover, the fact that we don’t have Princess Zelda is ridiculous.

Finally, above lies my main issue: a lack of The Legend of Zelda. It wouldn’t have been hard. Ice Ice Outpost could have easily become a second Legend of Zelda themed track. Cat Peach should have been Princess Zelda. Moreover, the Tanooki Kart could have been based on a loftwing. If Nintendo had tried to include more Zelda themed characters, vehicles and courses it would have been worthy of the title: The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8. But currently for me it’s the “Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack With a Bit of The Legend of Zelda Because We Know You’ll Buy It For Link.”

The Verdict: 8.7 out of 10.0

Mario Kart 8 is the best kart racer ever made and it just got better. Sure, the Mario Kart 8 X The Legend of Zelda DLC Pack might be lacking in The Legend of Zelda department but that doesn’t stop it from being fun, fast and frantic. It might not be quite as polished as Mario Kart 8; but the incredible value for money makes up for it. I can’t believe I’m saying this: bring on Super Smash Kart!

For more information about what the score means, check out our official review scale.

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Lucy Pallent is an Associate Writer at MONG. She is a girl gamer from a rock in the middle of nowhere and is the world’s biggest n00b. She likes Nintendo, JRPGs and food. Feel free to follow her random ramblings on Twitter.